Hold the line and wait for a cheaper iPhone? Apple will launch a low-cost phone next year: report

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Apple is expected to announce a raft of devices next week but not a budget iPhone – that won’t happen until next year, says a new report.

The cheap phone, expected next spring, would be a successor to the $399 iPhone SE, according to the report from Nikkei. That tiny 4-inch iPhone sold well but was discontinued by Apple in September 2018.

The size of the new model “will be similar to the 4.7-inch iPhone 8” introduced in 2017, sources told Nikkei. And the new model model will share many of the same components with Apple’s flagship iPhones.

Apple needs a device to stem its market share loss. Apple shipped 33.8 million new iPhones during the second quarter of 2019, which “was down significantly from the same quarter a year ago,” IDC said in a recent report.

And Chinese phone maker Huawei has shot up to No.2 in global smartphone shipments, a spot Apple once held.

The Apple event next week, however, could give Apple a boost and iPhone users a reason to upgrade. The tech giant is expected to launch three new iPhones next Tuesday.

The main attraction at the event is expected to be the flagship iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The iPhone 11 Pro is expected to feature a new triple camera lens technology and next-generation AI.

Those phones will be pricey, though. For example, Apple’s flagship iPhone XS phones now start at $999, the price of a decent laptop.

Morgan Stanley, in a recent research note, believes strong interest in new iPhones won’t happen until a future 5G iPhone arrives.